Going natural opting Naturopathy

Tired of popping pills and gulping down bitter syrups to get rid your ailment? You have an alternative in naturopathy. Dr. Rishi Ram Gyawali of Prakritik Chikitshalaya at Sinamangal says, " We rely exclusively on natural remedies, such as sunlight, air, water for the cure of different diseases and supplement the treatment with diet and therapies such as massage and mud bath." "Our methods of treatments do not give immediate results and for diseases which need immediate medication, it is advisable to seek allopathic treatment," says Dr. Gyawali.

Practitioners of naturopathy believe that the body is self-healing and it will repair itself and recover from illness if it gets healthy environment. Naturopaths have their own remedies for creating a healthy environment for healing the body. According to them, exercise, meditation, relaxation and good nutrition help the body heal and remain healthy. "We combine naturopathy with yog in our treatment process because we treat non-physical mind and natural body as a unit. For overall fitness, a person’s mind and body should be healthy," says the doctor.

"In our system of medication, three things, kafa mucus, pitta bile and vayu gas play the entire role in keeping a body healthy or making it unhealthy. In a healthy body all three things are balanced. When there is an excess of any of these three things, a person will get sick," explains the doctor. To maintain good health and keep the kafa, pitta and vayu in balance one should stick to a good diet and follow some routine exercises. "Most people follow very unhealthy diet pattern. Five things which are part of almost everyone’s diet like maida (refined wheat flour), sugar, white rice, white salt and dalda (vegetable gee) are called the ‘five white poisons’. They increase toxins in our body which cause different ailments," says Dr. Gyawali. He opines that people drink less water and consume junk food in considerable quantities which is very bad for health.

Dr. Gyawali says that most of the patients come to the naturopathy hospital when they are tired of allopathic treatment or when allopathic treatment fail to relieve them of their diseases. Only some patients come there in the initial stage of their ailment. "People lack patience for long term treatment. Treatment through naturopathy is best for those suffering from problems like gout, diabetes and heart diseases. In our treatment process, we make our patients follow a healthy diet and supplement it with alternative treatment practices like massage, bath, yoga and meditation," says the doctor and adds "Upavas, fasting is another method through which patients detoxify their bodies. There are various kinds of upavas depending on what the patients eat and what they avoid. Upavas is an effective way of cleansing and purifying one’s body."

The spartan white hospital is nowhere near the Sri Lankan and Indian luxury naturopathy spas that we see in glossy magazines where you have all the facilities to pamper your body and senses. The hospital nevertheless is providing service to common people with minimum fees. "We are service oriented people. Ours is the most equipped and inexpensive of its kind of hospital in Nepal," says Dr. Gyawali. For those seeking ‘pill and syrup free’ medication and healthy people who want to take benefits of Naturopathy can try Prakritik Chikitshayala and see if this helps them.

On high notes

Tejasuee Rajbhandari

The voice no ear can ignore, and the music that captivates every heart, Kunti Moktan is probably the best singer in the country. With more than 400 songs to her credit, Kunti is still waiting for her best work to come. Like a mother to her every songs, she says that she likes all her songs equally but her best one is yet to come.

She is very against the idea of comparison and says that all singers are good in their own way. However she loves to listen to the song of veteran singer Bhakta Raj Acharya, Tara Devi and Aruna Lama. Among the contemporary singers, she likes the voice of Sukmit Gurung and Bimala Rai.

This year Hits FM music awards honoured her with three awards- Best Female Vocal, Song of the year, and Best Album of the Year. Having received the three awards, she is really excited and feels more responsible toward audiences. Her Album ‘Kusum’ had the largest selling records of the year and till date more than 1.5 lakhs albums have been sold.

Born in the Nepalese Land ‘Darjeeling’ in India, she started her musical career in 1977 in All India Radio. Nevertheless her love for Nepal brought her here and she started to sing for Radio Nepal from 1980s. The year 1982 settled her permanently in Kathmandu when she got married to the famous Nepali Musician Shila Bahadur Moktan.

Though she started her career with the classical music, she has been able to establish herself as a skilled folk singer and has proved her mettle as singer of modern songs. ‘Kahile Kaahi Malai Pani Heri Deu Hai Farkiyera’ is more than two decades elder to ‘Dharan Dhankuta’. Yet the magic in her voice is more mesmerising than ever and with every new song, audience can experience the maturity in her voice.

Talking about the new singers, she says that most of them possess talent. She however said that these singers should not concentrate only on making the song popular but they should also take care of the quality. At the same time she also advises her juniors to give continuity to singing.

A mother of two and a dedicated wife, Kunti is busy throughout the week. Apart from singing, she is also teaching music in eight schools. Like the parents, Moktan offspring Sheetal and Subani are also tilted toward music. She is a proud mother whose daughters have shown their talent from the very early age. Sheetal is working with Image Channel, who is studying in the eleventh standard, whereas her younger sister Subani is working for Kath FM.

Simple at heart, Kunti does not believe in celebrity status. She believes that every one of us is equal. She uses the public vehicle without any hesitation. Though at times she encounters her fans who are surprised to see her travelling by the public transport.

Leaving behind her fans, Kunti is also a fan of the famous actor and comedian Haribansh Acharya. At the same time she also likes Karishma Manandhar and Niruta Singh.

At present she is busy doing the homework for her next album, which she plans to release in the auspicious occasion of Dashain. Requesting her fans to listen to all the music, she sounded more committed toward contributing better music. ‘Music not only elevates the singers but also the culture of the country’ are her last words to her fans.

Cruising the highways 
Bruising the tyres

Bikash Sangraula/Girish Giri

If tourism is not
in our culture,
let’s change it.
There is a huge
scope for
domestic
tourism in
our nation

Metropolitan existence becomes stifling at times. Despite throbbing eventfulness in the metropolis, one’s feet outgrow the size of its streets. One’s imagination comes to a standstill, the air ceases to be refreshing and the tongue begins to fail to distinguish vinegar from whisky. Worst of it all, one begins to complain of anxiety, insomnia, indigestion, and a whole lot of scary pathological symptoms.

"I feel like staying in this spot forever. Let the night be eternal," I remember the words of Biplav Pratik, while we whispered nasty jokes under the stars. We were sitting right beside the dark waters of Phewa that reflected a Gumba atop a hill, and two other constellations of earthly light that I guess came from villages atop two other hills. Didn’t he say it all in those two sentences?

If you really come to think of it, dealing with the pathological bugs of the metropolis is no big deal. Just get a bike and hit the road. Wait! Not just like that. Tell your friends to come along, have a backup van following you with all the contingency provisions, and of course, load your pockets with some extra cash. For you never know when your pockets cease to heed to your initial plans and start following their own extravagant mathematics. (If you are still worried that your tyres may burst and the backup team might not arrive on time, carry extra tyres. If that too doesn’t put your misgivings to rest, then carry an extra bike. Still better, don’t attempt it at all!)

Going for a long ride on cruise bikes is something that many consider here as risky and crazy. "Tourism is not a part of our culture. We’d rather have you people do it for us," I shamelessly told Jo Kingi of New Zealand. She laughed at it and disclosed the secret behind her sweet smile that never faltered. "I work eight months a year and tour around the world during the next four months." You are blessed, Jo.

If tourism is not in our culture, let’s change it. There is a huge scope for domestic tourism in our nation. The Himalayan Classic Motorcycles Club and Ideas and Solutions know best the pleasures that a long ride across the country has to offer. Shangrila Hotel, Royal Enfield, Hits FM, Carlsberg Beer, Nepal Tourism Board, Consulate of the Netherlands and Vodka deserve a big hand for supporting the ride.

The Himalayan Peace Ride, 2003, that took off last Saturday from the capital was a rare opportunity for the riders to see the insides of Nepal, to fathom its incredible secrets, to mingle with rural existence and to grasp the hardships of people living small and quiet lives. All this is something that a casual tourist can never hope to know and understand. For the casual tourists, there is a beautifully artificial cushion manufactured by the tourism entrepreneurs. For the hardcore tourists, the lifeless facade is barely entertaining. It’s the real thing that they yearn for. And that is precisely what a long ride has to offer.

The ride can be tiring indeed. But that is precisely the point. Age-old wisdom has it that tougher the effort, the more dazzling the rewards. You might have a backache, a headache or a bottom-ache at times, but be sure that all your ‘aches’ are bound to be cured instantly by the incredible scenery and the incredible people and the incredibly ancient smell of air that you encounter aplenty during a ride.

Talking about the Nepal Peace Ride, 2003, the noise coming off the 35 odd heavy motorcycles, mostly Enfields, was alone enough to make the ride scintillating. It was like a wake-up bell that brought small towns back to life. Kids would wave at the motorcyclists and would even hurl lolas at the fairly amused riders. Teashops and bars alike would welcome the tourists with a smile that was poetry unlimited. The aroma of freshly cooked traditional dishes and the strong smell of local liquor constantly tempted the riders. But then, there was always ‘still a long way to go’, just like life. How would it have been if my partner and I had paid heed to every little temptation of the throat and had taken a sip each from each of the bars all along the way, I wonder! Next time perhaps, if the liver permits.

There is hardly a better stop than Lumbini for the first night. Suren Thami, President of Himalayan Classic Motorcycles, knew that quite well. There is a certain air about nighttime Lumbini that inspires godly feelings in visitors. "Don’t smoke, it’s a holy place," I can remember someone telling someone. And then in the washroom, "Don’t piss, it’s a sacred place." Oops!

Small things, aside the major tour-plan, are like gems to be collected in the golden casket of memory. For instance, the hush that spread like an epidemic as soon as the bikers entered the birth place of Lord Buddha, the mystified air with which the tourists looked at the over 2000 years old construction, that showed every signs of age and decrepitude. And then the stillness in the air that was interspersed with occasional gush of the wind, all memorable.

Pokhara is quiet these days. It was holi time and hence a little noise thanks to the fun-loving Pokharelis. Phewa is like a chameleon. It has a different face at night and another one under sunlight. You can go boating there, try to race, or sit idly on its banks losing yourself in its unfathomed depths. If it starts drizzling, all the better for an experience! Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy up there during the short stay, and we missed Machapucchre. Fine, there are other things in Pokhara to compensate for that.

The pubs are awake even deep into the night, sparsely filled though, as tourists are yet to answer the call of the beautiful valley. But the locals are very optimistic people. They have waited this long, and they don’t mind waiting longer.

It is lunchtime, and you have had your fill. There is still sometime before continuing the ride back to Kathmandu. You are at the Riverside Resort, and resting back on cozy couches, you are half-asleep. Two schoolgirls of your touring team are having the most explicit talk you can imagine. You pretend you are asleep. But how desperately you yearn to be a part of that chitchat. Fortunately, they don’t shy away from including you in their chat. They are passing incisive comments on you, something that you would have otherwise found unsavory. But no, not during a ride that is nearing a unique climax.

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